Gwen Walz sheds light on fertility journey, clarifies they did not use IVF
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The Walz family attended the first night of the DNC. Photo: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz disclosed new details about the family's fertility story this week, clarifying that they did not use in-vitro fertilization, as previous comments had implied.
Why it matters: As both governor and the vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz has leaned into his personal experience to make a political argument about the need to protect IVF and access to reproductive health care.
Driving the news: In a piece for Glamour on Monday, Gwen Walz said the family's "fertility journey was an incredibly personal and difficult experience" that they initially kept "largely to ourselves."
- One exception was a neighbor, a nurse who would come over after work to help "with the shots I needed as part of the [intrauterine insemination] process."
Zoom in: IUI, also known as artificial insemination, involves placing specially prepared sperm directly into the uterus and does not use or require discarding frozen embryos. Therefore it was not considered directly at risk after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling thrust the issue into the spotlight.
- IUI generally has a lower success rate than IVF, but is also less invasive and costly. Some couples turn to IVF after trying to conceive via IUI or other fertility treatments.
What they're saying: Mia Ehrenberg, a Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson, told Axios that the governor was "using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments."
- "Governor Walz talks how normal people talk," she said in a statement.
Flashback: Tim Walz's past statements — along with local and national news coverage — have for months created the impression that the family relied on IVF.
- In his debut speech as Kamala Harris' vice presidential nominee, Walz told the crowd that IVF "gets personal for me," before going on to say that he and his wife went through "years going through infertility treatments" before having their daughter.
- Local news outlets, including the Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio, have repeated the IVF claim. In April, a Walz gubernatorial fundraising plea said the family "used IVF," per the New York Times.
In an interview promoted by the Harris campaign , Walz suggested he "wouldn't have a family" without IVF, adding his "kids were born through that direct, that way." In a separate MSNBC hit, he said: "Thank god for IVF. My wife and I have two beautiful children."
- At other times, the Minnesota Democrat has said the family used technology "like IVF."
Between the lines: Some experts argue that attacks on IVF could ultimately threaten other types of fertility treatments like IUI, Glamour reports.
- And given the personal, emotional nature of fertility treatments, some families use the term IVF as a "catch-all," the New York Times notes.
The bottom line: Gwen Walz's disclosure prompted one leading advocacy group, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, to issue a statement expressing regret for contributing to "confusion about how he became a parent" based on their previous understanding of his experience.
- But it also commended the family for sharing such "deeply personal information" with the broader public.
- "The ongoing conversation around the importance of IVF access and other fertility treatments has made millions of would-be parents across the country feel seen," the group said.